Focused Read in 3-4 minutes,
more, of course, if you go to the report
"UNWORKABLE
Dangerous Heat Puts Florida Workers at Risk
Introduction
Due to greenhouse gas pollution, temperatures have been rising rapidly in recent decades.
One important and often overlooked effect of rising global temperatures is that heat-related injuries and illnesses are increasing as well.
Under the administration of President Donald Trump, the U.S. government has been working aggressively to intensify rather than mitigate the problem of heat stress by accelerating the burning of fossil fuels.
It is therefore critical that other jurisdictions both work to mitigate climate change and begin protecting the populations that are most vulnerable to its harms.
This report discusses the problem of heat stress generally, then focuses on Florida outdoor workers, showing that they work in dangerous heat conditions a high proportion of the time and their health is suffering as a result.
Heat Is a Major and Growing Public Health Problem in Florida.
Heat was the leading weather-related killer in the U.S. over the past 30 years, and the problem is growing worse due to climate change.
The human body must stay within a narrow temperature range to remain healthy. The body’s temperature can be raised by heat in the environment or heat that the body generates internally, especially with physical activity. When the body cannot disperse heat quickly enough, it can progress toward serious injury or death.
... If heat exhaustion goes untreated, it can progress to heat stroke, a life-threatening condition in which the body rapidly loses the ability to control its temperature. ...
Excessive heat stress can harm anyone, but some populations are at greater risk.
All people are at risk of heat illness, which can occur in temperatures as mild as the 70s (Fahrenheit). But some populations are more vulnerable than others.
Children. Physiological differences in infants and children, particularly those under age 4, impair their ability to manage heat. Compared to adults, children have a greater ratio of surface area to body mass, which means environmental heat affects them more strongly. Moreover, children do not sweat as easily as adults, which impairs their ability to cool down. And children will not feel thirsty until they have lost two percent of their body weight as sweat, at which point they are already dehydrated...children age three and younger. Likewise, children and parents should exercise additional caution when children are playing sports of otherwise exerting themselves in the heat.
Seniors. Older adults are also at significant increased risk of heat illness...Older adults are more likely to have chronic medical conditions like heart, lung, or kidney disease that impair the body’s normal responses to heat.
They also may have poorer blood circulation or less efficient sweat glands, and are more likely to be taking medications that can impair the body’s ability to regulate or respond to heat. For the same reasons, individuals with chronic medical conditions can be especially vulnerable to excessive heat.
Older adults who lack air conditioning or fans are at increased risk of overheating, as the nation witnessed from the tragic deaths at a Florida nursing home in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills lost power during the storm and waited until the following day to request emergency medical services. Eight people between the ages of 70 and 99 died, and initial reports indicated that excessive heat was a significant factor in the loss of life...
Low-income individuals also are more likely to be exposed to heat and can be more vulnerable to heat stress due to lack of access to air conditioning or fans, poorer quality of dwellings, lack of access to public services, and more. In addition, pregnant women are more vulnerable because they are more prone to dehydration and their bodies must work harder to keep cool.
Workers. As this report discusses in greater depth below, occupation is a major risk factor for heat illness. Many indoor and outdoor workers are exposed to dangerously high temperatures in the course of their job.
Because they are working, workers typically have less ability to engage in natural responses to dehydration and heat, such as drinking water, resting, and moving to a shadier or cooler space.
Farm workers and construction workers are the highest risk populations. This is due in part to greater heat exposure. But workers in these sectors often are especially vulnerable for other reasons.
Many attempt to work through discomfort or illness without complaint because they cannot afford to lose work time or fear losing their jobs.
They may speak little or no English, may not know their rights, or may lack proper work permits and fear deportation if they raise health concerns that could be perceived as complaints. ... "
You can read more here
(Acknowledgments. This report was written by David Arkush, managing director of Public Citizen’s Climate Program, Valerie Mac, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, and Jeannie Economos, coordinator of the Farmworker Association of Florida’s Pesticide Safety and Environmental Health Project, with assistance from WeCount! and Shanna Devine, worker safety advocate for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division.
About. Public Citizen Public Citizen is a national non-profit organization with more than 500,000 members and supporters. We represent consumer interests through lobbying, litigation, administrative advocacy, research, and public education on a broad range of issues including consumer rights, product safety, financial regulation, worker safety, safe and affordable health care, campaign finance reform and government ethics, fair trade, climate change, and corporate and government accountability.
About. Farmworker Association of Florida is a 35-year old, statewide, non-profit, grassroots farmworker membership organization with five offices in Central and South Florida and a membership of over 10,000 Haitian, Hispanic and African American families and includes farmworkers who work in the vegetable, citrus, mushroom, tropical fruit, fern and foliage industries in the state. The mission of the organization is to build power among farmworker and rural, low income communities to respond to and gain control over the social, political, economic, workplace, health and environmental justice issue that impact their lives. The organization’s guiding vision is a social environment where farmworkers’ contribution, dignity, and worth are acknowledged, appreciated, and respected through economic, social, and environmental justice. This vision includes farmworkers being treated as equals, and not exploited and discriminated against based on race, ethnicity, immigrant status, gender, or socioeconomic status.
Public Citizen’s Climate Program / 215 Pennsylvania Ave. S.E. / Washington, D.C. 20003 / P: (202) 546-4996 F: (202) 547-7392
Apopka Area Office (Headquarters) / 1264 Apopka Blvd. Apopka, FL 32703 /P: (407) 886-5151)
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Focused Point of Interest in 2-3 minutes
"New attacks on Mueller, coupled with rumors about Sessions and Rosenstein, highlight need for congressional protection
( By Barbara McQuade and Joyce Vance, NBC News and MSNBC legal analysts )
New speculation that Attorney General Jeff Sessions will leave Donald Trump's administration after the midterm elections raises the stakes about the fate of the Russia investigation.
Indeed, reports that women were being approached to falsely accuse Robert Mueller of sexual misconduct suggest the campaign against the special counsel is already ramping up.
This week, The Associated Press reported that Sessions’ allies are hoping that the White House permits a graceful exit from the Department of Justice, indicating that they believe that his departure is inevitable. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s days also may be numbered.
Meanwhile, and despite the most recent allegations, Mueller quietly continues his investigation into any coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.
Bloomberg recently reported that Mueller is ready to announce key findings as soon as the midterm elections are over.
These findings wouldn’t automatically be made public, however — the initial recipient of Mueller’s report would be Rosenstein, who has been supervising the investigation following the recusal of Sessions.
If Rosenstein is fired, this duty would fall to his replacement.
If Sessions were replaced, his successor presumably would not be recused and would thus be the recipient of Mueller’s report instead of Rosenstein.
What would this new attorney general do with such a report? Can we trust him to make the report public?
Sunlight, they say, is the best disinfectant.
Which is why exposing wrongdoing to the public is the best way to hold public officials accountable.
In a rare but welcome bipartisan effort earlier this year, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would, among other protections, require the special counsel to submit a final report of his investigation to Congress.
We applaud this and also believe Congress can improve the legislation by mandating that the final report — or as complete an unclassified version as possible — be made available to the public so the American people can get a full picture of what did or did not occur.
U.S. intelligence agencies are united in their assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on U.S. elections in 2016, but the details of how the Kremlin was involved are still being uncovered.
We spent most of our careers as federal prosecutors and know that the best way to get to the truth is exactly what Mueller is doing now: following the facts, interviewing every person with information, methodically reviewing the evidence and turn over every rock to make sure there is a complete accounting of what happened.
On the other hand, Trump has repeatedly and publicly tried to undermine and obstruct the investigation. ...
Mueller’s ability to follow the facts depends on the White House and the Department of Justice to provide him with the financial and prosecutorial resources necessary to finish the job.
... In the face of these attacks, Mueller and Rosenstein have worked tirelessly to keep the investigation on track.
The midterm elections represent an important line in the sand.
As the Bloomberg report noted, it’s likely that Mueller is waiting until immediately following the elections to release his report, in order to prevent influencing voters.
Thus, the real threat to Mueller will likely come later in November.
If Trump does attempt to purge the Justice Department, whoever the president appoints to serve as attorney general will wield enormous influence over the scope of the Mueller investigation.
While regulations require Mueller to be fired only for good cause, a new attorney general could severely limit or undermine the investigation by withholding approval of case decisions and investigative resources in ways that would be invisible to Congress and the public.
In the end, Congress cannot leave something as important as the special counsel’s investigation unprotected. ...
To prevent the White House from such manipulations, Congress must require that the special counsel’s final report be made public.
For the health of our country and to restore faith in our democracy the full truth about Russia’s attacks must be revealed.
It’s up to members of both parties in the House and the Senate to adhere to a distinctly American principle:
Nobody is above the law, not even the president.
Shining a light on the conduct of public officials is the best way to keep government clean.
(Barbara McQuade and Joyce Vance
Barbara McQuade is a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and an NBC News and MSNBC legal analyst.
Joyce White Vance is a law professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, a former U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Alabama, and an NBC News and MSNBC legal analyst.)"
Focused Monthly Inspiration
( #itsNovember2018now )
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What's in the book:
→ Direct sources & resources for Democrats:
* ( Personal favored and most informative follows are also shared here with the understanding that readers will always apply their own critical thinking to any information provided anywhere by anyone. #StrongerTogether does not share sources of information lightly but -- no one is perfect! -- so always #DistrustAndVerify -- even if it's me. I am using a star rating that is strictly based on my situational experience with the work of the media personality specifically in relation to issues of interest to me. )
The Democratic Party Website
Also, NOT exactly a Democratic Party specific source under a GOP majority but a good place for to hear and to watch speeches & hearings directly C-SPAN
Democratic National Committee's Team Blue!
"The Blue Wave 
🌊 won't happen unless we all pitch in to help elect Democrats across the country. We've partnered with a number of organizations to make sure we're covering ground in every single community 👣. Join Team Blue to volunteer to get out the vote 
🗳️ in your community..."
🌊 won't happen unless we all pitch in to help elect Democrats across the country. We've partnered with a number of organizations to make sure we're covering ground in every single community 👣. Join Team Blue to volunteer to get out the vote 🗳️ in your community..."
You can email your two Senators and your Representative in Congress in one email here
"Postcards to Voters are friendly, handwritten reminders from volunteers to targeted voters giving Democrats a winning edge in close, key races coast to coast.
What started on March 11, 2017 with sharing 5 addresses apiece to 5 volunteers on Facebook...
Now, we consist of over 20,000+ volunteers in every state (including Alaska and Hawaii) who have written close to 3 million postcards to voters in over 100+ key, close elections."
You can find Postcards to Voters here
→ Some of my favorite, most active organizations -- some existing & some developing to elect Democrats:
Born from conversations between Governor Howard Dean and Secretary Hillary Clinton in the aftermath of the 2016 election, Onward Together was established to lend support to leaders — particularly young leaders — kicking off projects and founding new organizations to fight for our shared progressive values. here
Since #StandOnEveryCorner has grown, it’s become a stand by all of us to protect our democracy from corruption and treason...A stand not at your State Capitol, but in your own backyard. Not once every few months, but as often as you can here
→ Fact checking organizations courtesy of the Society of Professional Journalists
in alphabetical order...
→ Some of my favorite, most informative
follows on Twitter include:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ US Intelligence | Author | Navy Senior Chief | NBC/MSNBC
⭐⭐⭐ Federal Government Operations | Vanity Fair | Newsweek | MSNBC Contributor | Author
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Voting Rights/Voter Suppression | Author | Mother Jones
→ Some of my favorite, highly credible media -- at the moment:
📰📰📰 Mother Jones
📰📰📰📰 The Washington Post
→ Some of my favorite Talking Heads -- at the moment -- and their Twitter handles:
→ Some of my favorite media/panelists -- at the moment -- and their Twitter handles:
✅✅✅✅ Joan Walsh national affairs correspondent for The Nation; CNN political contributor
✅✅✅ Heidi Przybyla USA TODAY Senior Political Reporter
✅✅✅✅ Jennifer Rubin Conservative blogger at @ WashingtonPost's Right Turn,MSNBC contributor
✅✅✅ Natasha Bertrand Staff writer @ The Atlantic covering national security & the
intel community. @ NBCNews/@ MSNBC contributor
→ Some of my favorite Democrat Party Leaders to follow on Twitter, not in elected office but proving knowledge & experience are positives & not negatives are:
Former First Lady Michelle Obama
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Former Labor Secretary/Today's DNC Chair Tom Perez
Note: I rarely get involved in primary races -- outside of those in my own area and unless there is a glaring reason that can not be ignored, I support Democratic Party nominees in general elections. I don't support bashing Democrats.
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(Linked) "...is our 2016 platform...a declaration of how we plan to move America forward. Democrats believe that cooperation is better than conflict, unity is better than division, empowerment is better than resentment, and bridges are better than walls.
It’s a simple but powerful idea: We are stronger together."
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Owned, Created and Curated by Gail Mountain, this blog is often gently edited and/or excerpted for quick reading, with occasional personal commentary in the form of the written word and/or in the form of emphasis noted. Network For #StrongerTogether ! is not affiliated with The Democratic Party in any capacity. This is an independent blog and the hope is you will, at a glance, learn more about the Party and you will, with a click or two, also take action on its behalf as it is provided!
( You can find me on Twitter
( You can also find me on Facebook
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See the League of Women Voters website:
Vote411 here
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...for Networking for Democrats today!
g. (Unapologetic Democrat)
✊ Resisting "Fake News"
g. (Unapologetic Democrat)
✊ Resisting "Fake News"
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